I’m excited to announce that Andreessen Horowitz, along with Google Ventures, is investing $10.7M in Airware, a startup that makes operating systems for flying robots, popularly known as drones.

Drones were first developed by the military. But as component prices drop and software becomes more sophisticated, drones are starting to be used in non-military applications.

One application is precision farming, which aims to decrease costs, increase yields, and reduce the environmental impact of farming. Farming accounts for about 70% of global water usage. Most experts think this is unsustainable. Using drones, farmers can inexpensively survey crops to better allocate water and fertilizer. Studies show this can raise food yields over 25% while decreasing water usage by 40%. MORE